LETTERS: Time for Change

By Jim Fitzgerald

Thursday

May 17, 2018 at 10:28 AMMay 17, 2018 at 10:28 AM

Next Monday , May 21, there will be a special town meeting to address the recommendations of the Charter Review Committee on changes to the town charter. Two and a half years ago nine of Marshfield’s best and brightest were appointed to re-examine the town charter. Their mission was to look at all the elements of the charter (which had not been updated for 15 years) and develop suggestions for improving the way town government operates. After almost 50 meetings, consultations with other towns and a great deal of background work by these nine hard working citizens they created the recommendations that will be voted on Monday night.

The overarching theme to all the Charter Review Committee’s recommendations is increased accountability and responsiveness to citizens. The most significant charter modifications call for changing the Town Administrator to a Town Manager, the elimination of the three-member Board of Public Works in favor of increasing the Board of Selectmen to five members and the creation of a Finance Director to oversee all the town’s finances. Additionally, the Town Clerk and the Board of Assessors will become appointed as opposed to elected among other suggestions.

The current Town Administrator position only controls a limited number of departments in town government. That creates the too-frequent situation of someone coming to town hall with a concern that cannot be addressed by going to one central office. Also if there are operational issues within town government which need oversight that guidance cannot always be given as it should, since not all departments report to the chief executive office. The change to Town Manager will have all departments report to one chief executive office thereby streamlining town operations, increasing accountability and improving responsiveness.

The elimination of the board of public works will result in one fewer elected person but will increase the operational oversight of DPW functions from a three member elected board to a five member board, giving more accountability to the voters for decisions made both for DPW functions as well as the selectmen’s responsibilities. There is no advantage in having two separate 3 member boards when one 5 member board will be able to handle all the duties of both boards and be more accountable and responsive to the needs of the town.

The town of Marshfield is a greater than $100 million operation that is being operated as though we were still a small town with varied boards acting as semi- independent financial entities. The creation of a Finance Director will give better oversight and control over all the town’s financial operations in keeping with the way a major corporation ought to be run.

The town clerk and board of assessors are both positions that are best filled by people with knowledge of the operations of their departments. The current elected positions create the possibility of someone being put into a position of having to be responsible for important, technical decisions for the town without having any practical experience in making those decisions. By making the positions appointed, candidates can be selected that will do their jobs in an informed, professional manner from the start. We are lucky to currently have great people in those positions, but there is no guarantee that would happen in the future.

The changes offered by the Charter Review Committee are well-thought-out recommendations created after two and a half years of study by people who are your fellow citizens and neighbors. They are logical and rational recommendations made after much deliberation over long debate. Although I am writing as an individual and not the chair of the board of selectmen, I can report that last night the board of selectmen voted to support the changes put forth by the CRC.

Change is difficult to accept but it is necessary for us to acknowledge that Marshfield is constantly evolving and town government should be responsive to the needs of an ever-changing community. Supporting the recommendations of the Charter Review Committee is good for the town of Marshfield and I hope you will come to town meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, May 21 to vote in favor of the Charter Review Committee’s plan.